Relocation, also known as moving, or moving house, is the process of leaving one's dwelling and settling in another. The new location can be in the same neighborhood or a much further place in a different city or different country (immigration). It usually includes packing all belongings, transferring to the new home, unpacking, and administrative or bureaucratic tasks, such as changing registration data.
An
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country.
The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
is an individual temporarily or permanently relocating to a country other than their native country. The individual relocating would be considered an immigrant in their new country.
Psychological effects
On the
Holmes and Rahe stress scale
The Holmes and Rahe stress scale (), also known as the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, is a list of 43 stressful life events that can contribute to illness. The test works via a point accumulation score which then gives an assessment of risk. ...
for adults, "change of residence" is considered a stressful activity, assigned 20 points (with the death of a spouse being ranked the highest at 100), although other changes on the scale (e.g., "change in living conditions", "change in social activities") often occur as a result of relocating, making the overall stress level potentially higher.
Various studies have found that moving house is often particularly stressful for children and is sometimes associated with long-term psychological problems.
Pressure points for international assignees include challenges of a new job, inability to participate in activities available at home, loss of
peer support
Peer support occurs when people provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other. It commonly refers to an initiative consisting of trained supporters (although it can be provided by peers without training), and can ...
, language and other cultural difficulties, and worker's spouse being unable to find work.
Assistance
Relocation may be supported by a
relocation service
Relocation services, employee relocation, military permanent change of station (PCS) or workforce mobility include a range of internal business processes to transfer employees, their families, and/or entire departments of a business to a new loc ...
, which assists people in finding and moving into a new house, organizing a school for children, conducting local culture training, and supporting integration into the new location and culture.
Some jurisdictions subsidize relocations. Some target
remote work
Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...
ers to enhance the local workforce and tax base.
Governance
There may be a legal requirement for individuals to notify authorities of a change of address if they maintain a driver's license or
vehicle registration
Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. ...
,
voter registration
In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise Suffrage, eligible to Voting, vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted ...
, are on parole, or are eligible for conscription (as with the
Selective Service System
The Selective Service System (SSS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government that maintains a database of registered male U.S. Citizenship of the United States, citizens and o ...
). Some loans require the borrower to notify the lender of address changes.
In the United States, moving companies must provide the customers with a booklet "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move" created by the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation that regulates the trucking industry in the United States. The primary mission of the FMCSA is to reduce crashes, injuries, an ...
(FMCSA).
Immigration law
Immigration law includes the national statutes, Primary and secondary legislation, regulations, and Precedent, legal precedents governing immigration into and deportation from a country. Strictly speaking, it is distinct from other matters such as ...
impacts the requirements and feasibility of moving to another country.
See also
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Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
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Human migration
Human migration is the movement of people from one place to another, with intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily, at a new location (geographic region). The movement often occurs over long distances and from one country to another ( ...
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Immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
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Migrant worker
A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
Migrant workers ...
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Military brat
A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...
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Moving company
A moving company, also known as a removalist or van line, is a company that specializes in assisting individuals and businesses with relocating their goods from one location to another. Moving companies may offer additional or all-inclusive ...
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Moving scam
A moving scam is a scam by a moving industry, moving company in which the company provides an estimate, loads the goods, then states a much higher price to deliver the goods, effectively holding the goods as lien.
History
The Moving company, movi ...
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Moving Day (New York City)
Moving Day was a tradition in New York City dating back to colonial America, colonial times and lasting until after World War II. On February 1, sometimes known as "Rent Day", landlords would give notice to their tenants what the new rent would ...
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Moving Day (Quebec)
Moving Day () is a tradition, but not a legal requirement, in the province of Quebec, Canada, dating from the time when the province used to mandate fixed terms for leases of rental properties. It falls on July 1, which is also Canada Day.
Histo ...
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Population transfer
Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration that is often imposed by a state policy or international authority. Such mass migrations are most frequently spurred on the basis of ethnicity or religion, but they also occur d ...
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Relocation service
Relocation services, employee relocation, military permanent change of station (PCS) or workforce mobility include a range of internal business processes to transfer employees, their families, and/or entire departments of a business to a new loc ...
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Shipping container
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated box design, corrugated b ...
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Snowbird (person)
A snowbird is a person who migrates from the colder northern parts of North America to warmer southern locales, typically during the winter. The southern locales include the Sun Belt and Hawaii in the United States, as well as Mexico and the Car ...
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Structure relocation
A structure relocation is the process of moving a structure from one location to another. There are two main ways for a structure to be moved: disassembling and then reassembling it at the required destination, or transporting it whole. For the ...
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Third culture kid
Third culture kids (TCK) or third culture individuals (TCI) are people who were raised in a different culture than their parents, for a large part or the entirety of their childhood and adolescence. They typically are exposed to a greater volume an ...
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Relocation (Personal)
Human migration
Moving and relocation